Latest market data

Stock search

Wearable electronic devices have moved beyond the pages of comic
strips like Dick Tracy and have appeared in everything
from eyeglasses that incorporate GPS to running shoes that
pinpoint their wearer's immediate location and bracelets that
tabulate one's exercise efforts.

But wearables are still far from mainstream, and the next round
of product engineering will require
exploiting the relative strengths of the “big five platforms”
-- i.e., Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook.

So says a new report from Forrester Research Inc., adding that
without these Blue Chip Companies, wearables -- defined as
“devices worn on or near the body that sense and relay
information” -- are just another passing fad.

According to the Forrester report, five platforms are the only
game in town -- each with its own specialty:

Apple scores big in
marketing, channel and brand, and has the
best chance to take a product mainstream. Just look at how the
iPad overtook a decade’s worth of tablet PCs
in less than a year.

Google’s open
Android platform enables a product to be built on top of its
code and offers access to Android apps.

Microsoft has the
best depth sensor, and its operating systems have already
proven themselves in a number of products. What the company
currently lacks is the ability to attract experienced and new
developers, but by ‘acquhiring’ a tech startup, that problem
will be easily solved.

Amazonis now the go-to
source for product searches, offering access to more than 100
million products -- and their potential buyers. It's more of a
partner than a manufacturer of wearables.

Facebook brings to
the table 850 million people, making it the partner of choice
for any wearable that aims to leverage facial recognition
or social sharing.

Do you think its possible to build a mainstream tech
offering in the wearable category without the assistance or
partnership of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon or
Facebook? Let us know in the comments
below.